Castle of Muro Lucano

The Castle of Muro Lucano is located in the town of Muro Lucano in present-day Italy. It was originally established by the Lombards in the latter half of the 9th century as part of their efforts to secure the northern frontier of the Duchy of Salerno, within the historical region known as Langobardia Minor.

During the Middle Ages, the castle served as a feudal stronghold and administrative center. In 1269, Pietro di Hugot was named lord of Muro by King Charles I of Naples, indicating the site’s importance within the kingdom. Later, the castle became notable as the place where Queen Joanna I of Naples was assassinated in 1382 on the orders of Charles of Durazzo, reflecting its role in the turbulent politics of the time.

In the early 15th century, under King Ferdinand I of Aragon, the castle and town were granted to Troiano di San Magno before being sold to Count Mazzeo Ferrilli for 5,000 ducats. By 1483, Alfonso I elevated Muro Lucano to county status with Ferrilli as its first count. Ferrilli undertook significant renovations, adding two towers and a drawbridge that enhanced the castle’s defenses and profile.

The castle later passed into the hands of the Orsini family through the marriage of Beatrice Ferrilli, Mazzeo’s granddaughter, to Ferdinando Orsini, Duke of Gravina. The Orsini family maintained feudal control until 1806, when feudalism was abolished in the kingdom. During their tenure, the castle experienced major repairs following severe damage caused by an earthquake in 1694, including alterations that led to the removal of the drawbridge.

In the 19th century, specifically in 1830, the castle changed ownership when Bernualdo III sold it to Francesco Domenico Lordi. The building endured further harm during another earthquake in 1980 but was subsequently restored throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with attention given to the walls, interiors, stables, and original medieval sections. Adjacent to the castle stands the Concattedrale di San Nicola, which dates back to 1169 and is nearly physically connected to the fortress, although much of its medieval fabric is hidden beneath a later seventeenth-century structure.